Your View: GOP offers chance for change in Senate race

Wednesday

Mar 20, 2013 at 12:01 AM

The U.S. Senate seat formerly occupied by John Kerry, and temporarily held by William Cowan, will be the subject of a special election on Tuesday, June 25. Although that may seem like quite some time away, the primary will be held in just a few weeks on Tuesday, April 30. The deadline for both Republican and Democratic candidates to qualify for the special election has recently passed and the time to get informed about your choices for candidates and engaged in a Senate campaign is now upon us.

BROCK N. CORDEIRO

The U.S. Senate seat formerly occupied by John Kerry, and temporarily held by William Cowan, will be the subject of a special election on Tuesday, June 25. Although that may seem like quite some time away, the primary will be held in just a few weeks on Tuesday, April 30. The deadline for both Republican and Democratic candidates to qualify for the special election has recently passed and the time to get informed about your choices for candidates and engaged in a Senate campaign is now upon us.

The Massachusetts Democratic Party is fielding two entrenched liberal candidates in U.S. Reps. Edward Markey and Stephen Lynch. Congress has an embarrassingly low approval rating and they are about as popular as the last snowstorm. Massachusetts suffers from having nine of the most undistinguished, mediocre representatives who march in liberal lock-step with their party leaders. The battle over sequestration is a perfect example of the gridlock and dysfunction that runs rampant in Washington, D.C. Rather than be part of the solution, Reps. Markey and Lynch have been part of the problem for 36 and 11 years, respectively. Neither Markey nor Lynch has ever seen a tax increase or spending provision that they didn't like. Between higher taxes, the embarrassing sequestration battle, and decades of more and more spending, Massachusetts voters may not, and should not, give either gentleman a promotion from the House to the Senate.

Thankfully, my fellow Bay Staters here in SouthCoast and all across the commonwealth have a strong, exciting alternative and that is the Massachusetts Republican Party and our three U.S. Senate candidates: Gabriel Gomez, Michael Sullivan and Daniel Winslow.

Gabriel Gomez has a wonderful story to tell as a first-generation American citizen who learned to speak English. Gomez graduated from Annapolis and served our country as a Navy pilot before becoming a SEAL platoon commander. Gomez went on to earn an MBA from Harvard Business School and is the principal of a Boston-based investment firm that focuses upon retirement funds and growing small businesses. Gabriel Gomez is not a lifetime politician.

Michael Sullivan, an attorney with many years of private practice, has a tremendously rich resume of public service. Sullivan most recently served as the acting director of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Prior to being appointed to head the ATF, Sullivan served as the U.S. attorney for Massachusetts. Previously, he was elected to serve as the district attorney for Bristol County and as a member of the state House of Representatives, where he was recognized as Legislator of the Year by the Massachusetts Municipal Association. Michael Sullivan, tested and trusted, took on corrupt Democrats and shook up Beacon Hill.

Daniel Winslow is currently a state representative and also an attorney who spent years in private practice. Winslow has served the commonwealth in all three branches of government, including having been the chief legal counsel for the governor as well as a judge. Winslow has also been elected to numerous county and local boards such as the Norfolk town moderator, Planning Board, and Affordable Housing and Public Works. Finally, he was recognized as Legislator of the year by the Massachusetts Marine Trades Association. Dan Winslow energizes the Statehouse with innovation and is never afraid to ruffle feathers when necessary.

Gridlock has paralyzed the Capitol for far too long and Massachusetts Republicans are ready to do what is best for our commonwealth and country. Talk of the liberal agenda found in the White House, Senate or Congress is endless. The Massachusetts Republican Party, as embodied by Gabriel Gomez, Michael Sullivan and Daniel Winslow is working on an agenda of, by and for the people of Massachusetts. We deserve — and we need — two-party government in order to ensure sincere and effective representation in the halls of the Senate.

In 2010, the Massachusetts Republican Party shocked the know-it-all political pundits by electing a new voice to the People's Seat. Let us, Republicans and independents, rally around one of these Republican gentlemen on April 30 so that our reform-minded Democratic family and friends can join us on June 25 in order to have a real choice when we all cast our votes. Embrace the alternative and proudly stand up and support one of these Republican candidates for U.S. Senate. You have a choice to make history.